A Warm Winter
by Wendy Crescent
Summary: Weiss Schnee discovers a new side of Ruby Rose. A more mature, artistic side of her. Weiss learns to open herself up through arts. White Rose, fluff, short.
1. What you ignore

**SOME A/N NOTES FIRST:**

Hello there. Before you consider reading this fanfiction, I need to warn you. Firstly, my native language is not English, which means you'll probably encouter a lot of mistakes throughout the chapters (feel free to tell me where, that will help me improve). Secondly, this is my first RWBY fanfiction, so I apologize for the lack of interesting plot, as I decided not to do anything too complicated or too long for a first time. I need to test the waters. So this is just a short White Rose (RubyxWeiss) fluff, I am basically throwing cuteness at my computer.

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**A Warm Winter**

Chapter 1 : What you ignore

Winter had claimed its reign on Vale City. Snow was falling upon Beacon Academy, and students took an habit of rubbing their hands together, as they were looking for any kind of heat.

Inside Team RWBY dorms, Weiss Schnee was sitting by her desk, reading through some notes she had taken during the previous courses, with the help of a hot cup of coffee. She was alone. This was strangely not unusual, as she spent less and less time with her teammates, afraid their recklessness would rub on her. It was about five in the afternoon, and she just assumed they were hanging around.

_Geez, how can they be so carefree? If our team gets badly ranked because of their ignorance, I swear they will never see the end of their punishment._

Just as she was wondering what sort of ruthless torture she could inflict them, she heard the sound of the door opening, followed by the sound of an overly excited 15-year-old leader. Weiss saw the red hooded girl followed by a laughing brawler and a rather calm Faunus.

_Why so loud? _Weiss thought, desperate. _Farewell, dear quietness._

She exchanged a brief look with Blake. A compassionate, sorry look, that could only say "I'm so sorry we ended up with these clowns". As hard it was for Weiss to accept her teammate's Faunus heritage, she still had to admit the raven haired girl was the easiest to be around. At least she was not constantly making horrible jokes, or stuffing her mouth up with some unhealthy junk food.

"Oh, Weiss, we were looking for you" Ruby said, with a surprising calm voice. Probably as quiet as Ruby could.

"Where else would I be?" Weiss answered with a sharp tone.

"Ah, mh, that's true..."

Ruby started staring directly at her feet, as a slight brush tainted her face. She never knew how to react to Weiss's harsh comments, and she surely could not face them. After all, she was still a little girl, who obviously had a lot of issues dealing with other people. The heiress noticed her discomfort, but decided to brush it off, as she would never apologize to anyone for her behavior.

"So, why were you looking for me?" she asked.

"Oh, right, well, um... do you know that small music school on the Valley district?"

Weiss nodded, but she had no idea where her leader was getting at. She had a very low interest in music, and would never picture the hyperactive kid anywhere near it.

"Would you like to go to a small concert there? Next friday?" Ruby finally asked. "You won't have to pay though, don't worry about that", she quickly added.

"Why would I want to see a concert I know nothing about?"

"Well, I will be singing, so... I thought... maybe you would come... there won't be much people... it's a... private concert, I guess? but there will be coffee and... you know..."

It took a little time for Weiss to connect the dots. "Wait, you take singing lessons? Since when?"

"Uh, about a year or two, I guess? You didn't know?"

Weiss decided to ignore this futile question. She could see the disappointment in Ruby's eyes. So far, the white haired girl had only been supporting Ruby with her fighting skills and her studies, but she never had bothered hanging out with her partner, as she had no interests for anything beside grades.

"So... will you come?" Yang asked when she noticed how uneasy Ruby felt.

She sighed. "I guess I have no choice. I will attend this... event."

Ruby suddenly came back to her over excited self, she squealed and jumped to hug Weiss, but the latter stepped back, hands over her chest in a "you're definitely too close" way. She was not really acquinted with these sort of signs of affection, and felt terribly uncomfortable touching someone else, let alone when _someone_ was touching _her_.

She already regretted accepting.

Friday seemed to come faster than it should. The team headed to the dorms right after class, which felt rather unusual for Weiss. She could barely see her leader shaking, from the corner of her eye. Even though the icy girl would never dare show some compassion to someone, she actually felt a little nervous for the red little hooded girl. Yang was trying to get Ruby to relax, with the unstoppable power of her ridiculous jokes. Blake just gave her a smile, and let her hand lay on her should.

The room was only filled with Yang's voice. Out of the blue, she stood up, clapped her hands.

"A'right gals, it's time to go! Don't worry baby sis, I'm sure everything will go smoothly", she yelled, emphasizing on the last word.

The music school was not far from Beacon Academy, but every step forward felt like an enormous effort for Ruby. Both her anxiety and the freezing cold outside were almost paralyzing her, but she kept walking, alongside Weiss, while Yang and Blake were just behind, following them.

"Stop biting your lip", Weiss said suddenly.

"But I'm so nervous..." she answered, breathing in her hands, as she tried to fill her lungs with some warm air.

The heiress could only deduct it was her first time singing in front of others, so it would be only natural for her to be this nervous.

"There is no reason to be nervous", Weiss tried. "Well, if you rehearsed enough" she added, as she did not really appreciate the idea Ruby wasted her time to learn a song instead of studying.

"I did..."

It was as much as Weiss could offer, but it was enough to calm Ruby down. At least until they arrived.

It was indeed a very small, modest place. A few doors could be seen, and Weiss just assumed they led to rooms where they could teach different musical intruments. The hall was probably the largest room, but seemed smaller than it actually was, due to the numbers of chairs scattered all around. A few instruments laid in the back, with a tiny free space, presumed to be meant for the singers. The place was getting a bit more cramped by the minute, as people kept getting inside. Weiss noticed a coffee machine not so far. _Ah, yes, she did mention coffees._ She went to have some, while she could still overhear Blake talking to Ruby.

"It will be alright", she said. "Just don't forget your lines, and you should be fine."

Ruby seemed panicked, and quickly grabbed a piece of paper from her pocket. She read it about three times before nodding. "I know them."

Weiss walked back to them, holding a hot cup of coffee in her hand. "What are you going to sing?"

"Oh... you don't know it. It's a song that I wrote", Ruby answered nervously.

"You write _and_ sing?" the heiress asked, surprised at Ruby's interest for artistic activities. Though she still needed to see what it was worth.

"Well, Blake helped me a lot", she specified, as Blake nodded. "I really don't have much to sing, though..."

"Then don't feel so nervous. It will be over soon."

"But I'm so scared I will screw it up!"

"I thought you were a fearless leader."

For the first time in a while, a faint smile appeared on Weiss's lips. She quickly erased it as she saw Ruby staring in shock.

"You should smile more, you know."

"What in the world are you-"

"Ruby, you're up", a teenage boy said, interrupting.

She nodded and walked away. People suddenly stopped talking as they noticed the little commotion in the back of the room, where Ruby was standing, next to the same teenage boy that appeared earlier and another unknown girl, the three of them holding a microphone. People decided to sit, facing them.

"C'mon, let's try to find a good place", Yang told the rest of the team.

They sat in the second row, since the first one was already full. They stared at their leader, as if they were trying to give her some confidence through their gazes. Ruby seemed to notice, as she suddenly started talking.

"Um, hello, everyone. The name's Ruby Rose, leader of the mighty team RWBY", a few people laughed while her team smiled. "This is my first time singing here so... I hope it won't be too bad!" she paused. "Oh and thank you all for coming all the way here!" she added, glancing at Weiss.

The other two singers also made a little introducing speech, before they backed away, looked right at the musicians who nodded. The room grew silent. And the song started.

Ruby's voice was only accompanying the other singers, but Yang still seemed overexcited and proud, as she was probably the only one who had heard her sister's voice. Blake was nodding mysteriously, as if she was making sure none of the singer made a mistake on the song she partially wrote. Weiss was at loss, she could not distinguish Ruby's voice from the other girl's. She absolutely had no idea what was happening, and just as she tried to focus on the lyrics, a guitar solo came in the middle of the song. Even though Weiss thought it was way too loud for her ears to handle, she surprisingly enjoyed it.

Ruby was standing awkwardly, since she had no idea what to do with her body while her mouth remained shut. She glanced at her partner a second time, but ended up staring at her, looking for some kind of approval. Weiss felt her heart cringe. Her leader, who usually was so confident, too confident, was now staring at her, trying to detect any form of opinion in her facial expression. Weiss had no idea what to do, she did not pay that much attention to the lyrics, she did not know weither or not Ruby made a mistake, and she could not even hear her voice well. Her knowledge on the matter seemed so small next to Blake's or Yang's and she...

_"There's a moment that changes a life when we do something than no one else can."_

A voice reached her ears, one she had not heard yet. She only realized now that her mind had ran away for a few seconds. She only realized now that the guitar solo had ended, and the song just kept going. She only realized now that the voice she heard belonged to Ruby.

_"There's a moment we make a decision not to cower and crash on the ground."_

And just as she cursed herself for not paying much attention to Ruby's singing, the young leader kept going, and Weiss could now fully hear her voice. It sounded more mature than Weiss could had ever expected, and the words she sang were worthy of a great writer.

_"I may fall, but not like this, it won't be by your hand."_

She could feel ambition, obstinacy, pugnacity in Ruby's melody. She had never felt anything while listening to the few songs her mother made her listen to.

_"I may fall, not this place, not today."_

Ruby was giving it her all, her previous nervousness flying away along with her singing words.

_"I may fall, bring it all it's not enough to take me down."_

Some sort of strenght ran through the heiress's veins, she felt the urge to stand up and yell, just yell, something, anything. But she was used to contain her needs and desires.

_"I may fall."_

She surprised herself as she heard her own voice singing alone these three small words. She quickly turned around and sighed in relief when she noticed Yang and Blake applausing, too busy feeling proud of their leader to hear Weiss. She stood up as well and started clapping.

The emotions she had just experiencied, for the first time, on this precise evening, were worth any walk under the freezing snow, any quarrel with her dim-witted leader, and any missed sessions of study.


	2. Mixed feelings

**A/N: **Hello everyone!  
I am back from holidays, which means I get to update this fanfiction, but before giving in the second chapter, here is some boring talk. First of all (more or less adressed to Ziirroh), it took me a long time to decide which song I was going to put in the first chapter, but I'm glad I chose this one. Second of all, I'd like to thank you all for favoriting, following, reviewing or even reading my fanfiction. I got an overwhelming feedback even though I wrote so little, and I hope I will live up to your expectations!  
And finally, I hope you'll enjoy this second chapter.

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Chapter 2 : Mixed feelings

As the shattered moon was hung up in the dark sky, team RWBY was heading back to their dorm. A few hours had passed since Ruby's performance, and they all decided to stay to watch other novice singers. More exactly, Ruby wanted to stay, Yang felt too proud to leave her sister, Blake was curious about other songs and Weiss… she was not precisely sure why she stayed.

Something about this evening seemed terribly wrong. But at the same time, a part of it seemed awfully right to her. And she could get her hands on neither of them. Her feelings laid confused, and the heiress did not dare say any word for the rest of the evening. She barely gave attention to the other performances, her mind going back and forth between reality and the experience she had just lived, the trip lasting fairly longer on the other side of the world.

Ruby, on the other hand, just regained her old self. All the nervousness she collected prior to the evening just ran away, and she was back being the 15-year-old hyperactive girl that her teammates were doomed to have as a leader. She took some sort of pride in her singing performance, but most of all, she felt like a heavy burden just fell from her shoulders to the ground, leaving her free to run around, which is what she did. During the short journey to their dorms, Ruby kept making circles around her teammates, re-analyzing every singers they had heard, gossiping about some of them, talking about her desire to sing her own song someday. Yang was basically the only person capable of holding a true conversation with her, as they were the two most talkative members of the team.

They soon arrived at their final destination, and just as they stepped into their dorms, Blake let out a light yawn, but clear enough for Yang to notice.

"Owh, baby Blakey is tired already?" she said jokingly.

"Your voice is way too loud, it's exhausting", the Faunus quickly talked back.

"Uh. That hurts."

Blake gave her a quick grin before Ruby interrupted them.

"But, it's only eight, and we haven't eaten yet".

"Sorry, you three just get something to eat, I'll head to bed right away", she answered, her sentence being cut by another small yawn.

She did not give them any time to answer as she rushed under her fresh covers, totally ignoring Ruby's sad look.

_Were we bothering her? She could have told us…_

"Well then", Yang shouted, in an attempt to annoy Blake and cheer Ruby at the same time. "It's Friday, so I guess the cafeteria is still open. Why not grab something there?"

"Sure, sounds like a plan." Ruby said.

She turned around to Weiss, but the latter seemed lost in thought once again. Ruby noticed it had happened quite a lot this last hour, but she did not dare say anything. No matter how hard she tried to get closer to the heiress, every attempts just resulted in rejection and scolding, and even though Ruby promised to herself she would befriend with Weiss, she had to admit she was currently running out of ideas.

_Maybe she really doesn't like me… there's no way I could force her…_

"Weiss, you coming with us?" Yang asked, fortunately for her sister.

"Mh? Oh, yes, of course. Forgive me", she answered quickly, before heading back to her mysterious side world.

Yang and Ruby exchanged a concerned look, before Yang just shrugged and gestured them to follow her out of the room.

As an awkward silence settle between the three of them, the tall brawler led her two teammates to the cafeteria. The place was not as crowded as they expected, as only two teams and a half were eating there.

"I guess most of the students decided to eat later", Ruby said while she was grabbing a ham and cheese sandwich.

"Good for us I guess?" Yang grabbed her chicken sandwich and glanced over Ruby's shoulder only to see Weiss standing a bit further away, staring at a green apple. "What's with her?" she asked in a whisper.

"I don't know. She's been like this for an hour or two now." Ruby said, then shivered. "Do you think she hated the performance?"

"Of course not, you were awesome, don't wo-"

She stopped as she saw Weiss getting closer. The latter finally bought the apple she was staring at a few seconds prior, then she followed her teammates as they all took place around a table, facing the two sisters who were sitting next to each other. The room was only filled with their few schoolmates talking, as they did not find anything interesting to say themselves. Weiss's gaze kept coming back and forth between the fruit she was holding and the concerned leader in front of her. She definitely did not feel hungry, even for the small apple she picked, but she could notice Ruby's worrying for her, and she did not feel like annoying her either.

_Come on Weiss, say something_, she tried to cheer herself. _You've been awfully quiet, now say something, anything._

"So, what did you think of Ruby's voice? You still haven't told us what you thought", Yang abruptly said.

"Oh, it was nice", she answered simply.

She could not find any other adjective, or more precisely, she restrained herself from doing so. Part of her wanted to thank the blonde girl for breaking the silence, whereas another part of her wanted to slap her for bringing that up. All she really wanted to do, was to forget how affected she got by Ruby's performance. She could not comprehend how it exactly happened, she only knew it did, and she had absolutely no idea what to do with these new feelings.

"You really think so?" Ruby insisted, unconvinced.

Weiss gulped slightly.

"Of course I did, I wouldn't lie about this. I did not expect you to have such a… great voice."

Even though Yang and Ruby both noticed the gap between Weiss's words, neither of them pointed it out, and just attributed it to the heiress's difficulty for giving compliments.

"Thanks a lot, Weiss."

The white haired girl unconsciously nodded, before taking her first bite into the fruit she took. Only then she realized the two of her teammates had finished their sandwiches, and were now staring at her.

"Geez, you two definitely eat way too fast", she commented.

"Nope, you were the slow one", Yang stretched herself, then stood up, up under Ruby's questioning look. "I'm gonna head back, I'm sure my partner misses me a whole lot." Yang said with a light tone of joke in her voice.

"Oh, fine. I'll wait here with Weiss", Ruby answered.

The two remaining girls silently watched the departing one. Once again, Weiss just stumbled in her own mind, between the relief of finally being able to talk privately to Ruby, and the nervousness of actually being alone with her. She felt the urge to tell her young leader about the thoughts she was having, some sort of need to get it all out, mixed with the desire to reassure the small singer who was obviously still concerned by the heiress's opinion. As uncommon as it was for Weiss to talk about her emotions, she, at the moment, did not mind. There was only one tiny, little problem standing in her way – how was she supposed to express her feelings when she actually knew nothing about what was going on inside her? She had no clue how to start, but decided she had to do it at some point.

"I really enjoyed it."

She had a small, uncertain voice, which was rather unusual for her. Ruby just stared at her innocently, a startled expression showing on her face.

"Enjoyed what?"

"Your song, you idiot."

"Oh."

The older girl felt disappointed by that short answer, but figured the leader could not think of anything else to say. After all, Weiss was not used to talking with sincerity, and the few times she ever did, her interlocutor would feel too uncomfortable to answer anything constructive. However, it took her a fair amount of efforts to bring up this conversation, so she decided to go on.

"I…" she started with a near inaudible voice. "I am sorry I wasn't aware you took singing lessons". She paused for a few seconds. "I always thought you were just hanging out after classes, lazing around, and to be honest, I was mad at you for it. And I was even madder to learn you preferred spending your time singing rather than studying."

"Wei-"

"But you really have some talent", she interrupted. "I mean, I wouldn't know, I am far from being an expert at it. But you have a pleasant voice and…"

She paused again. For a longer time, as the feelings she tried to get across definitely seemed out of place for her to verbalize. But as the young leader got nervous, she decided to just let it happen.

"I'm glad I could hear it."

Ruby's lips grew from one ear to another. Weiss felt her heart cringe once again, but overall, she felt relieved. Even though she could not get a close understanding of what sort of war was taking place inside her mind, she could express herself, and she felt proud, as a teammate, a partner, a person.

"Then I'll work even harder, and I'll sing an even better song to you!" the younger girl said, with her bright smile still on.

"Don't forget your studies, plus we have two exams coming up", Weiss answered, and even though she used a cold tone, she could not help but smile back.

"Gosh Weiss, are you always so serious?"

"Of course. How else would I obtain straight A's? Definitely not by spending my afternoons singing", she teased, taking another bite into her half-finished apple.

"But singing is fun. Like, it really helps relaxing, and no matter how you feel, there is always one song that can, you know, totally express your feelings. That's amazing."

"A song… that totally expresses your feelings?" Weiss repeated slowly.

Ruby slightly regretted making that comment, as she saw Weiss getting back to the other world she already spent so much time in.

"Yes, like, even if the words are not always accurate and all, it just feels so great to sing your emotions! I just love the feeling when I finish a song, like everything just fwooo, flies away, and you feel so light you could fly. It's like you accomplished something, you know, with yourself."

"I… honestly have no idea what you're talking about", she admitted.

"Uh? You've never tried to sing before?"

"Of course not. Why would I? I have barely listened to music before I got to hear you, and those were only a few old classical songs my mother listened to when she was around my age."

Ruby put her hand on her chin and stared at the wall, absently. Her eyes narrowed, as she was looking for an idea deep inside her mind.

"We need a remedy for this."

"A remedy?"

"Definitely. You need to sing, at least once."

Weiss choked on the last remaining bit of her fruit. "No I don't! Y-You just… no way!"

"C'mon. You need to know this feeling, you'll see, it's really amazing. And I'm sure we'll find some music you'll like!"

"Show me your music, or whatever, but as long as I am called a Schnee, there is no way in this world I will ever sing."

"But why not?"

_Oh no, not the puppy eyes. Not the- goddammit, Ruby._

"Because it is too embarrassing. Unlike you, I have never once taken a singing course, and I will probably just mess it up, which is not something I desire, not in front of you."

"Everyone has to start at some point."

"I'm afraid to figure out what you meant."

Ruby stood up, walked over Weiss and put an arm around her.

"From now on, I will be your private singing teacher!"


	3. A comforting cocoon

**A/N: **Once again, I'd like to thank everyone for reading, following, favoriting and reviewing.  
As I am updating this, it is almost 2am, which means you might find a lot of mistakes in this chapter (even though I did proofread!), so if you spot any mistake, please tell me. I accept any critics. Now, I still hope you'll enjoy reading.  
Thanks again.

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Chapter 3: A comforting cocoon

"So, how should we start?"

"You're the one who suggested this crazy idea, so I'll let you figure it out on your own."

"Pfft."

Ruby obviously had not thought on the matter enough, despite her previous fervor. She and Weiss were both standing in a music room, next to where Ruby performed two days prior. Standing. Awkwardly.

"Okay. So, um, do you have any idea what kind of music you like?" Ruby asked.

"I told you. The only songs I have ever listened to where my mother's, which I did not particularly enjoy."

"But you enjoyed my song, right?" Ruby insisted, her eyes filling with hope.

There was a short silence during which Weiss pondered the reason why she actually agreed to come. Not that she had a choice in the first place, her leader just dragged her all the way into the music school, not concerned in the slightest by the heiress's protests.  
She brought her fingers to her nose, pinched the bridge of it and closed her eyes.

"I guess I did."

She sighed. _Which I still don't quite understand_, she thought.

The younger girl's lips turned into a small smile and her cheeks grew a faint pink, as she walked over a shelf, standing proudly at the other end of the room. Ruby then pulled out a drawer and started looking through it.

"Why isn't anybody here?" Weiss asked as she impatiently waited for Ruby to find whatever she was looking for.

"Only a few music teachers give classes on Sunday. Mine doesn't. They still allow us to come inside freely, in case we want to rehearse, or if we forgot our stuff."

"I could bet you are the kind of student who would forget their stuff, aren't you?"

"Well, it would be kinda hard to forget my vocal cords in a room, don't ya think?" the dark haired girl answered, with a somewhat amused tone.

Weiss did not bother looking for an answer. _Of course_, she thought, as she cursed herself for making such a silly assumption.

"There it is!" Ruby yelled, as she grabbed an album along with a thin stack of paper. "This is one of the album of my favorite artists."

"What makes you think we will share the same tastes?"

"Well, they, um, kind of inspired me for the song I sang Friday. And since you liked it, I thought, that, maybe you would also like them."

"That makes sense, surprisingly."

She was about to ask who the singers were, but did not have the time to, as Ruby jumped to put the disc into a CD player laying right next to the shelf. She clicked here, mumbled a bit, then clicked there, and a song finally started playing.

"Alright, now just sit, listen, and tell me if you like one of these!"

They both sat down silently, next to each other, as the music was filling the room quietly. Weiss was trying to pay as much attention as she possibly could, unsure as to what she was supposed to give attention to exactly. She looked over at Ruby, who was obviously enjoying herself, but neither of them pronounced a single word until the album ended. The young leader then jumped to her feet and walked to face Weiss.

"That was amazing!" she exclaimed loudly. "So what did you think?"

"It was… nice." Weiss answered, in a calmer, softer voice.

"Mh. Was there any song that caught your eye? I mean, your ear?"

Weiss decided to politely ignore the young girl's giggles at her own words.

"I enjoyed the one about being lifted up…"

"Oh, _Wings_. It's a nice one, the lyrics are beautiful."

Weiss nodded to this affirmation, a bit doubtful of herself. She would willingly admit the words used carried a comforting warmth, and the melody itself was pleasant. However, she could not deny the song did not make her feel the same emotion she had when Ruby sang _I May Fall_, and she could not figure what the difference was.

"So, do you want to try and sing it?" she asked cheerfully before the heiress could say anything.

"I told you, I would never si-"

Ruby immediately turned around to walk over the CD player, and the same song played once again. She looked through the stack of paper she had grabbed before, and took out one sheet that she gave to Weiss.

"Here are the lyrics."

"Do I need to learn them by heart?"

"Don't worry about that, it will come naturally."

Weiss had to admit her partner was right. Ruby played the song on repeat, and even though the heiress discovered the song less than an hour ago, she could already remember most of the words. She was aware of her incredible memory, but she still felt surprised by her own ability to learn these lyrics, and was even more surprised as she caught herself lip syncing. She abruptly took her blue eyes out of the sheet she was reading, in order to put them on Ruby. The latter was smiling widely, as she had been staring at the heiress for the last couple of minutes. She started opening her mouth but did not have the time to say anything as Weiss and her pink-shaded cheeks immediately interrupted her.

"Oh, quiet you."

"But you were so cute wh-"

Her lips were silenced by a pale and warm hand, but Weiss almost instantly withdrew as the blush on her cheeks deepened. No, she definitely was not used to touching other people.

"I said quiet. You're not making this easy for me."

"Alright, sorry, sorry."

Ruby was content. No, she was happy. After months of trying to get closer to her partner, she finally managed to share a common interest with her. No matter how loud Weiss's protests were, Ruby knew she was enjoying herself. She knew that little sparkle in her eyes, this fainted smile. _Now I only have to deal with her shyness_, she thought.

"I think I know the lyrics…" the older girl said with a timid, unsure voice.

_Exactly what I was talking about_, Ruby thought.

"Then, are you ready to sing?"

"What? Are you serious?"

"Don't worry, it will be fine! Just sing along, okay?"

She rushed to the CD player and played the song once again, from the beginning, but raised the volume. They had lost count on how many times they had listened to it, but it did not matter in the slightest. She walked back to Weiss and offered her hand, which she reluctantly took to help herself standing up.

"You dunce! There is no way that I can-"

"_One life is not a long time when you're waiting for a small sign._"

Weiss felt her heart skip a beat. Her partner, teammate, leader, Ruby, was in front of her, singing, in front of her, smiling, in front of her. There was no escape, no possibility to look away, or pretend to be unaffected. She could not hide herself behind a row of strangers, stay silent a whole evening or stare at a green apple just to avoid her gaze.

"_Don't be disappointed, don't let your heart break, don't spend another minute in this way."_

She could tell her that her smile definitely was out of place considering the song, she could tell her that the sound was way too loud and covered her voice, she could tell her the stack of paper was falling onto the floor, and she could even scold her for bringing her here in the first place.

"_It's okay."_

But she did not.

"_Dry your eyes now, baby, broken wings won't hold you down."_

And instead, she just let her own voice rise up, bashfully, full of uncertainty, disregarding the knots forming in her throat and stomach. In that precise moment, her family name, her pride, her cold gaze, her perfect manners seemed to fly away, all of it, vanished, as if it never truly mattered to her.

"_You'll take flight soon, baby, you'll be lifted up and you'll be there._"

She could barely hear her own voice, and did not really care if Ruby could. She actually did not care for anything in this instant, her mind felt too light-headed to process a full creative thought.

"_Aimless on the inside and the damage makes you want to hide._"

Her confused feelings came back nonetheless. Her legs seemed willing to run out of the room, which would be the only way out for her, so she could forget anything that occurred in this whole hour, so she could act as if she had never showed any sign of weakness.

"_I know that it seems pointless, I know that it feels fake."_

But her young leader's smile forced her to consider the issue. Ruby seemed different. The little girl's cheerfulness and innocence were always present, but she held a maturity that Weiss had only seen when she sang. She somehow remained calm, but she just seemed… happy.

"_I know you can't stand the thought of being stray one more day._"

She wanted to ask her partner why she felt so happy, but as her mind wandered off, she stumbled upon some words. The little girl facing her paid it no attention. She only sang louder, as if she tried to cover her partner's mistake, and she offered a bright, reassuring smile, one that would say exactly what Weiss wanted to hear. "I'm not judging you."

"_Dry your eyes now, baby, broken wings won't hold you down._"

Within this room, nothing mattered. As if they were in a parallel universe, and nothing would bother them, not even her ponderous name. She could show weakness, because no one was there to judge her. She smiled, internally of course, at the freedom she was currently feeling.

"_You'll take flight soon, baby, you'll be lifted up and you'll be there…_"

Thus, the song that was surrounding the two girls, ended quietly. As the dark haired girl went to turn the CD player off, the cocoon that was previously comforted the heiress violently broke. While she was singing, she did not care about anything, but now, it was a different matter. She had put her barriers down for a few minutes, and already regretted it.  
Now came the uneasy part. The one where they were supposed to say something, or even talk about what just happened. The part that Weiss wanted to avoid, by all mean. She started spinning around, ready to leave, when someone's hand slowly slithered into hers. Ruby's, of course.

"Weiss, wait…"

"What?" she replied dryly.

_Why am I even bothering with her?_ she wondered. She could just withdraw her hand and walk away as she had originally planned, but her curiosity was boiling inside her. She just stayed there, back to Ruby, staring at the door.

The first words were pronounced, but the hardest was still incoming. "You… you have a really great voice…" the younger girl shyly started. She immediately cursed herself for her inability to find better, more interesting words.

The heiress just shrugged. "How could you even hear? The sound was too loud, I couldn't even get a grip of my own voice. Besides, I wasn't able to focus, as you didn't properly put down the stack of paper, and most of all… this song is highly emotional and you just smiled all the way, as if you didn't even think about what you were singing."

And there went all the critics Ruby expected. _You think this is going to bring me down, princess? You have to try a lot harder than that_, she thought.

"I know what I was singing, and I know that song is 'highly emotional' as you said. I was just too happy to hear you sing to even care, about the lyrics or the stack of paper. I have great ears, and I could definitely hear your voice, and I maintain that it was beautiful."

She expected Weiss to find a comeback, to find some way to scold her, but it seemed the icy queen had nothing to reply. Ruby was staring at her back when an internal flame vigorously lighted around her chest and sprayed all over her body, down to the tip of her fingers, before a sudden shiver ran through her spine. She just had this impulsion, this need to wrap her arms around her partner's neck and hold her close. The reason why, Ruby could not figure. She had never been fond of physical sign of affection, she just found them awkward, and deeply hated when Yang used them. However, she could not deny hugs were strangely effective in sending your feelings across, but as much as she hated it, she needed to express herself, with words. Besides, she knew the older girl would just push her away, and that simple thought made Ruby fight the urge back. _Still… words…_

"Weiss… I know I shouldn't have brought you out here…" she started, gently squeezing Weiss's hand. "I started regretting when I saw how uncomfortable you were earlier but… when you started to sing… I don't know, you seemed almost relieved. Y'know, you're not the easiest person to have around, and sometimes you can be really…" she sighed. "But it looked like you were enjoying yourself, so I think it was actually a good idea…"

The grip on their hands got firmer, but this time, Ruby was not the one to initiate it. As Weiss remained silent, Ruby continued.

"I really mean it, when I say you have a great voice. To be honest, I was surprised… I know you'd never sung before so I expected you to get everything wrong and all- but that would have been okay, you know, I said I was going to teach you, so, it would've been fine. But you really did great. I mean it."

She heard a faint laughter. An awkward, sarcastic one.

"Did I? I messed the lyrics up."

"Does it really matter?"

She saw Weiss lowering her head, almost shamefully. Ruby could not fight herself anymore, and made a step forward, as she withdrew her hand and joined it with her other one, in front of Weiss. _She smells… good,_ she thought. She gently pressed the slender girl against herself and sighed against her neck, which made the older girl shiver slightly.

"You were good. Don't be so harsh on yourself."

Surprisingly, she did not get rejected. The white haired girl merely did not react, but this was definitely better than what Ruby had expected. She added a bit more pressure on her body.

"Didn't you enjoy it? Even a tiny bit?"

This time, Weiss was the one to sigh.

"I guess…" she started. "It was… rather interesting…"

Before the younger girl could smile and celebrate her victory, Weiss put an end to her satisfaction.

"But you are a miserable teacher. Telling me, out of the blue, to sing, without even giving advices beforehand, how dared you!"

"I _did_ give you an advice, I told you not to worry!" she defended herself.

"So, basically, you didn't give any advice, as I said."

"Yang always told me that the best way to learn how to swim, was to jump into the water."

"Were you trying to drown me?"

"Nope. Most people would struggle to keep their head underneath the water, but you managed to do a perfect crawl."

There was a short, awkward silence, before Weiss sighed for the second time.

"Thanks…"

Ruby pulled her arms back, and watched the heiress slowly turn around, now facing her. The latter was still fidgeting uncomfortably, avoiding eye contact as best as she could, which only made the leader smile.

"So…" she started, uncertainly. "Will you… 'teach' me again?"

The smile grew larger.

"I don't know, I wouldn't force anything upon my princess. I'll just obey her desire."

Without any proper answer, said princess rolled her eyes before turning back and walking out the room, but that would not take Ruby's smile away.

Finally, after months of efforts, the two of them were getting closer. Even though their exchanges were rather awkward, even though the older girl struggled to be honest, they were now sharing something, beside sparring and studying.


	4. Your worst enemy

**A/N: **Hi everyone. I'm deeply sorry for the late update. There are two reasons to this: first, I've been quite busy. Second, this chapter was definitely hard to write. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy writing, but I felt this chapter was important and needed to be done correctly, which is why I decided to take my time and do my best instead of rushing it and make something awful. I think this chapter is the best thing I've ever made in English so far. Ever. I hope you will enjoy it, and if you don't, please tell me why so I could improve (I'm begging for critics here). Now, I wish you a good reading.

* * *

Chapter 4: Your worst enemy

The next three weeks had passed rather peacefully. The leader of the team and her partner had decided to meet up every Sundays and Wednesdays, when Ruby was free of her own singing lessons, and Weiss was not busy studying. However, despite the young girl's drastic method of teaching, Weiss had come to realize she was not as annoyed as she would appear to be. Or to put it in simpler words – she was enjoying it, but the gap between realization and acceptance seemed to grow larger and larger with each day spent by Ruby's side. Thanks to their "new musical bonding sessions", as the hooded girl liked to call it, the two of them had started spending a lot more time together, beyond studying, sparring and now singing.

It was Tuesday in the late afternoon, the sun was starting to fade, leaving an orange tainted sky on its way down the other side of the planet. Its departure caused the students to consume incredible amounts of hot drinks, trying to dismiss the freezing cold running through their bodies.

Weiss entered the dorms only to find Ruby sitting on her bed, her brows furrowing over narrowed eyes, staring at a single sheet of paper, pencil firmly in hand, her incisor slightly covering the right side of her lower lip. Such a serious facial expression was rarely seen on the young leader's features, and Weiss was so shocked by the sight it actually took her a couple of minutes to notice Blake was also present in the room. The latter was lying on her bed, quiet as ever while her amber eyes flew through the pages of a rather old thick book. More concerned about her partner, the heiress walked towards her, her eyes glaring at the paper balls surrounding the younger girl.

"Ruby?"

"Mh?" she answered, her eyes still firmly set at the end of her pencil.

"What are you doing?"

The little girl abruptly lifted her head up, her gaze meeting her partner's. "Weiss! Sorry, I didn't see you were there…"

"Yeah, I noticed." she answered coldly. "What are you so serious about?"

"I'm trying to write a song… but I can't seem the get the words right. I mean, I have them but I can't write them down, it's like something always get lost between my thoughts and my pen…"

Weiss raised a curious eyebrow, worried her leader might be insane, when Blake finally interfered, without breaking contact with her apparently captivating page.

"Do you want me to help?"

"No, I need to do this alone. I'll make it, it just needs some… time."

The younger girl then proceeded to continue her work, and Weiss sighed, seemingly displeased.

"Well, while you are so busy writing, I will study. Good evening, Ruby."

Ruby caught the accusative tone in her voice but decided to ignore her partner. _She is just angry I'm not studying enough for her standards_, she thought. She entirely missed the true reason behind this harsh tone, and Weiss, in all honesty, was not even sure herself.

She grabbed some textbooks and lied on her own bed, right underneath Ruby's. She rested on her back, her notes by her side, and stared at the top bed. Since her leader was already wearing her pajamas, Weiss could only deduct the younger girl had no intent of going out. _She doesn't even care_. Her heart skipped a beat, and she did not fail to notice. _She is just writing a song, and it seems important to her. Why would she care about what I do? It doesn't necessarily mean she doesn't care. She is just… busy._

She was intrigued. _I have no reason to believe she doesn't care about me, this is just plain stupid._ Judging wise not to think about this matter too much, she picked up one textbook and started reading through it, even though all the written words just flew out of her mind as soon as they reached her eyes. She could hear the sound of a pencil sliding along a paper, then along what it just wrote, then a paper getting violently crushed in what could be a small hand. Weiss could feel Blake glaring at her, but decided to simply ignore that fact, as the opposite would lead to further interrogations and awkward situations.

A part of her was impatient to read or hear this song Ruby was so worked up about. This mere thought was not what Weiss was afraid of; she was afraid because she could feel it taking more place. These past three weeks, this part of her had kept growing bigger, noisier, bolder and Weiss was not sure how long she would be able to maintain it hidden, hidden from herself. She was well-aware that something about her feelings was going wrong. This was probably as much as she could admit to herself at the moment, but she was scared, _terrified_ to look deeper. Sometimes, her thoughts would just go wild, muttering "_I love her_", and she could ignore it, as long as it remained a whisper, she could pretend it never happened. But these random thoughts were getting rather frequent, and more importantly, they were getting stronger. She could only fight back, find lame excuses and fall into a verbal internal war that would never be told in history books.

_I love her – I don't – then why did I just thought I did? – I'm just tired – This is lame – Thoughts like this have no meaning – I only want to believe they don't – I would know if I loved her – Or I would stubbornly deny it – I don't even like girls – Which is why the only heterosexual relationship I've had was entirely platonic – But she's not attractive – So I'm admitting I like girls – … And that she is not attractive – So why am I always thinking about her? – I'm not in love with her – Or am I? – I'm not!_

She absolutely had no control over it. The more she tried to hush these thoughts, the more they would appear, and it would only lead to more confusion. She could list a hundred reasons why falling for her partner was a horrible idea, but she could also list just as many reasons why it was silly to even try to rationalize feelings. She paid no attention to her erratic heartbeat when she heard the girl above her moving in her sheet, and as she grew tired of pretending to be studying, she got up. She started walking toward the bathroom's door when a voice reached her.

"Weiss? Where are you going?"

Said girl turned over to see Ruby, now laying down on her front, her elbows firmly place on the mattress to help her maintain her head up. Her black tank top was slightly falling down, hiding the beowolf pattern and revealing… a little bit more than it should. Weiss could feel the skin on her cheeks warming up as she cursed herself for having such indecent thoughts.

_Not attractive uh?_

She noticed Blake was grinning. Weiss felt a shiver run down her back, as her arms itched fiercely and her jaw tightened. That sly smile irritated her.

"Obviously, to the bathroom. Any other stupid questions?"

The angst she held against herself started affecting Ruby, which she only noticed when the younger girl twisted her mouth in a regretful grimace before she lowered her head, therefore hiding the view Weiss was starting to admire. Equally ashamed, the heiress continued her way to the smaller room, blinking a few times on the way just to push the tears away, and she locked herself in. Her back still leaning on the door, she held her left hand close to her breasts as she tried to slow her heartbeat down. _What in the world am I doing? _She let her body slid to the cold floor, the fast and powerful knocks inside her chest still refusing to decrease. She closed her eyes. _It's not her fault I'm getting so… _She could not find the right word to describe what she was becoming. _Carefree? Reckless? Crazy? … Perverted?_ She gulped, her dry throat clearing not agreeing with the gesture. _I cannot allow myself to ruin our team, our partnership._

_I love her – Shut up._

She slowly got back on her feet, keeping one of her hand on the door to maintain her balance. Her body complained, sending a displeasing pain through each of her muscles. She felt exhausted. The fact she could see a headache coming from a mile away did not help, so she undressed, tossed her uniform aside and rushed into the shower as fast as her legs allowed her to. She closed her eyelids. She let the sound of the water dropping on the stoneware echo through her ears, she let it run down her bare body, she let the heat swallow her completely.

_I love her – Shut up._

All her icy blue eyes could see when she opened them again was the steam taking over the entire room. She sighed heavily, reaching for her shampoo. She slowly proceeded to wash her hair, carefully listening to the water in order to keep her mind away from her leader. The task appeared harder than she thought, as Ruby's shampoo and shower gel seemed to look brighter than they used to. She grabbed her own product, now applying it to her body.

_Damn you, Ruby. How in the world am I supposed to stop thinking about you when we share the same room, the same bedroom, the same bunk bed?_

Her heart expressed itself again. It appeared to beat faster again, then slower. She felt a salty taste tickle her lips, invade her tongue. Instinctively, her fingers reached to her eyes. _Am I crying? But I'm not even sad!_ But as the tears refused to stay in place, she let them roll down her cheeks, melting with the water. There, alone, in this shower, her leader in her mind, she silently cried. No sobbing, no sniffing. _I'm a Schnee, after all_. But she was still human, and her conflicted mind along with her confused feelings were too much for her to bear.

_I love her – Shut up._

As she wondered when all these emotions appeared, she thought back to her first singing lesson. The freedom she felt when she started singing, the anxiety when she stopped, the relief when Ruby praised her. She remembered her warmth when she held her hand, when she wrapped her shoulders in a light hug, her breath tickling her neck as she spoke. She remembered her heart flinch at each of these. She remembered how bad she wanted to turn around and return the gesture, she remembered how her hand went to reach the little girl's arms when they were resting around her neck but stopped midway. She remembered feeling something hot spreading over her face when she tried to express herself, to ask for another lesson. She remembered how lightly her heart flew as she left the room.

_I love her – Shut up._

She crossed her arms on her chest, grabbing her own shoulders, as if she were hugging herself. Ever since this day, she could not keep the small sign of affection out of head. What she felt when she sang was amazing, she had no doubt about it, no matter how hard she tried to deny it when her private teacher asked her. But slowly, the reason why she agreed to these lessons changed. Each time she reached for the handle of the music room's door, she hoped those same thin comfortable arms would wrap her again. Each time she had to sing, she tried to excel. She cursed herself whenever she missed a note, no matter how many times her leader would reassure her, telling her it was fine. But it was not a matter of being perfect anymore, she wanted Ruby to be proud of her, to praise her, to embrace her. She was now the one being judged, rather than the one judging, she was the weakest, the neediest, and this feeling of powerlessness drove her mad. The mere fact she did not know why she felt this way did not help her cause.

_I love her – Shut up._

She stepped out of the shower, covered herself with the help of a clean white towel and walked to the mirror instantly. A faint red married the blue in her eyes. She looked at her reflection, half-sympathizing, half-judgmental. She proceeded to dry herself off as she tried to accept the fact she could not understand herself anymore.

_I love her – Shut up._

She changed into her pajamas, grabbed her uniform and stared at the door. She closed her eyes and inhaled slowly, filling her lungs entirely until she let finally let it out. When she opened her eyes again, she could feel a thin layer of courage surrounding her. She could not afford to show any sign of weakness, nor could she afford to hurt Ruby any more. She stepped out of the bathroom, determined to just go to bed as fast as possible in order to avoid any questioning look from Ruby, any sly grin from Blake. _All I have to do is prepare my clothes for tomorrow, say 'good night' and go to bed_, she told herself as she saw the dark sky through the red curtain.

As she walked to her dresser, she noticed two things. Firstly, Ruby had stopped writing and was now sitting and staring at the wall across Yang and Blake's bunk bed. Secondly, said bunk bed was empty. After glancing quickly around the room – carefully avoiding Ruby – Weiss decided to break the silence.

"Where is Blake?"

She could feel Ruby's eyes on her, but she pretended to be too busy folding her clothes to make eye contact.

"She went out to get Yang, she told me she would be back within an hour or so. Said something about privacy… I didn't really get it."

Weiss bit her tongue as she saw right through Blake's plan. The cat Faunus definitely sensed the tension between the heiress and the hooded girl.

"Weiss?" said girl called when she saw her partner laying on her own bed.

"Good night."

"What? But it's only seven, we haven't even eaten yet and…"

"I'm tired, and not hungry at all. So good night."

Ruby jumped out of her bed, stared at Weiss for a few seconds before sitting on the edge of the bed. She kept staring at the wall in front of her. Weiss tried to pretend to be asleep, but she knew she could not fool her leader.

"Weiss… is there something wrong?"

_Oh please, don't ask that. Don't go down that path_, Weiss immediately thought.

"Are you angry with me? Have I done something wrong?"

_No you didn't, you never did, it's just me, it's my fault._

"If I have, please tell me…"

_It's not you, it's me, I'm too cowardly to… to what exactly?_

"Weiss?"

The heiress sat down, silently. She did not know at what point Ruby turned around, but she was facing her. They were so close. If she spread her arm, she would certainly be able to reach her and then she could… she could not. She could not allow herself to. Too bold. Too risky. No matter how hard her body wanted it, she couldn't. _She is worried about me, and all I'm thinking about is hugging her. Goddamn it…_

She stared at her hands, on her lap, avoiding Ruby's troubled look.

_I love her – Shut up._

"I'm… fine. Just…" she paused involuntarily as a single word came out as difficultly as a tirade.

"Are you on your period?"

"What? N-No!" Weiss yelled, chocking and blushing violently as she didn't expect Ruby to make such a blunt comment.

_I love her – Shut up._

"I just thought… it would explain why you're so… moody."

Weiss looked up to meet silver eyes but quickly turned back to avoiding her gaze, her cheeks still tainted red.

"Dunce…" she whispered, the edge of her lips rising up.

_I love her – Shut up!_

"You're finally smiling!"

Weiss glanced at her once again. Her eyes still full of concern, Ruby lifted her right arm up, brushing a strand of white hair off of the heiress's pinkish face, and she offered a light, warm smile. Her hand remained on the older girl's shoulder, stroking it gently.

"If you feel bad, you can talk to me you know. Don't shut yourself in. I'm here."

Weiss flinched.

Her heart squeezed, cringed, pinched.  
It skipped a beat, or maybe it added one. Her lungs rejected any bit of air, or maybe she stopped breathing on her own. Ruby started stroking her more firmly, or maybe she was the one shaking violently. She could not find any words, or maybe there were too much of them. She could not tell.

_I can't, I can't, I definitely can't, there is no way I can handle this, there is no way I can love her, I can't keep up this distance, I can't…_

She had spent her whole life trying to meet up unreachable expectations she set for herself, aiming to be perfect, to excel in everything and anything, working hard, every second of her life, fighting her thoughts, her feelings, herself, denying her own being just to achieve the ideal she wanted to become, without ever coming close to it. She had fought these thoughts of hers with all her might, had tried to ignore them, to push them away, to turn them down, but what could she do when the girl she couldn't stop thinking about kept coming back at her, despite her flaws, her faults, her mistakes? How could she keep fighting for excellence when the exact same girl was sitting right next to her, glaring at her like she meant the world – like, she, Weiss Schnee, meant something, as imperfect as she was? How could she fight her desires when the girl she was longing for stayed so close, so caring, so loving, her innocence rubbing on the older girl as she caressed her shoulder ever so lightly? Oh, how she knew it was only an act of pure heroic naivety. And how she wished it would be more.

Her cheeks felt hot. Humid. The salty taste on her lips came back. It turned bitter.

"Weiss? What's wrong?" Ruby asked, her other hand reaching up to meet Weiss's left cheek, wiping a tear away.

_I love her._

"Uh, Weiss, I don't know, what am I supposed to do?" she asked, but the other girl didn't seem able to formulate a proper answer, seemingly lost in a state of shock.

_I'm gay._

"It's alright, i… it's gonna be alright, I'll help you with um whatever you have to deal with…" she continued while her hands slid down to the center of her back, pulling her closer, for an embrace the heiress never had the bravery to initiate herself. "I'm here, okay, no matter what, I'm your friend, well I think, but I'll make it better, somehow, so don't you worry about anything!"

_I love her so much._

Ruby stayed silent at this point, only holding her friend tighter, stroking her hair and back more firmly, as if she wanted to make her presence known. Weiss returned the gesture, her arms shyly holding the younger girl's arms as she nuzzled into her neck. She cried on her shoulder, not caring if she were silent or sobbing.

_There is no way I can help it._

She closed her eyes. She wanted to remember everything she felt in this moment. Everything. The salty taste, her muggy cheeks, the dark hair tickling her face, the knot in her stomach, the scent of roses – Ruby's shampoo. But most importantly, the warmth. The warmth of Ruby's body, the warmth of her fingers drawing circles on her back, the warmth of her upper arm brushing her cheek, the warmth of her breath on her neck, the warmth of the embrace.

_I want her so badly._

They remained in this position for a few minutes, until Weiss's shaking body finally became calm. Weiss could have skipped hundreds of hours of lessons just to stay here, with her, but she knew that for Ruby's sake, she had to let it go. She put her left hand on her right shoulder, pushing her away slightly. She could not make her worried – more worried.

"Are you feeling better?"

Her voice was almost timid and she let her hands on Weiss's arms, as if she were afraid the older girl would break down again. But she didn't. Instead, she took a deep breath and locked eyes with her new love interest.

"Yes, I am. I'm… sorry about that."

She could not maintain eye contact for too long, but her partner did not seem to mind.

"It's fine! Don't worry! But do you want to talk about it? You know, I won't judge you, I promi-"

"I know. I would tell you, but there is nothing to say. I'm just tired, I didn't sleep well, and I… put a lot of stress on my shoulders. It'll be better after I get some rest."

"Mh… okay…" the younger girl finally gave in.

She seemed unconvinced, but she still straightened her back, distancing herself from her partner. When the latter laid back down, Ruby pulled the covers on her, her concerned look never fading.

"Ruby, you don't have to, really."

"I know. I'll go get something to eat, in case you're hungry during the night, okay?"

Weiss sighed. "Gosh, Ruby, I'm fine, I swear."

_Stop being so adorable, geez._

"O-Okay… I'll let you sleep then. Good night."

"Good night."

The younger girl got up, turned off the lights, only leaving her own bedside lamp on. She glanced at Weiss but before she could jump onto her bed, Weiss caught her hand.

"What is it?"

"Thank you."

Ruby smiled brightly and grabbed Weiss's shoulder once again, pressing it gently. "Anytime."

As she withdrew her hand and got into her own bed, Weiss fought the urge to ask her to come back down and stay with her, but she knew there were still boundaries she could not step over.

_Seriously, how stupid can I be, falling for my partner and leader?_

She felt cold that night.


End file.
